1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus having a first and second RF coil systems for the detection of resonance signals generated in respective first and second regions of an object, which regions are adjacently situated in a first direction, each of said first and second RF coil systems including a surface coil.
2. Background of the Invention
An apparatus of this kind is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,438. Apparatus of this kind is particularly suitable for the examination of a comparatively long object which cannot very well be studied in its entirety because its dimensions are greater than the diameter of the uniform part of the steady magnetic field. An example of such an object is the human spine. The known apparatus comprises two adjacently situated RF coil systems, the first of which serves for the examination of the thoracic segment of the spine (T-spine), the second coil system being used for the examination of the lumbar segment (L-spine). It is a drawback of the known solution that the fact that the overall length of the spine may vary strongly from one patient to another is not taken into account sufficiently. Notably the location of the transition from the T-spine to the L-spine differs substantially in small patients (for example children) and large patients. Examination of such different patients by means of the known apparatus, therefore, is very difficult, because for each patient a new position of the two RF coil systems must be found, implying a comparatively intricate readjustment of the apparatus. When the RF coil systems are positioned anew, the patient must each time be lifted off the patient table.